Shuttered Notre Dame bath house, sex club back in business

Aquarius Bath House is open for business once more.

Rebranded as X Club, the downtown-area sex and lifestyle venue shut down May 24 after neighbourhood policies prevented the former owner from opening a beverage room to offset what he told the Free Press were high business taxes in the city, making it financially unfeasible.

However, on June 4, the two-storey club, located at 457 Notre Dame Ave., reopened after next-door Raei Convenience and Halal Meat Ltd., took over the facility and its parking lot.

To get the doors open at the club — known to many as AQ — the owners contacted former owner Somchai Pengpharsuks.

“The grocery store next door asked me to take over, but I wasn’t sure yet, so we’re going to try it and see what’s happening,” said Pengpharsuks, who owned the club for 24 years.

“Many people miss the place.”

Raei Convenience and Halal Meat Ltd. co-owner Behailu Sebreszabher couldn’t be reached for comment Monday about plans for the club.

On Sunday, the business’s official Facebook page advertised special morning rates and discounts. Its website promotes the bath house as “ the only place in Manitoba where adult men, women and couples can truly enjoy the freedom of relaxation and meet new friends.”

“With more then (sic) 7,800 square feet of pleasurable space, you will never get bored,” the website continued. “We have over 30 rooms ranging from simple rooms to large rooms with hot tub and other commodities which you will find more than interesting.”

He said people who used the facility need a safe place to go.

“The owners feel really bad, so they asked me… ‘Can you try to rescue the business?’”

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca